One Legend Of French Breads’ Design Says Napoleon Bonaparte Ordered Bread In Long, Thin Shapes To Fit Into Soldiers’ Uniform Pockets

French bread can trace its start to a rather unlikely set of circumstances. Thanks to a law passed in 1920 that prohibited bakers from working before 4 a.m., morning commuters needed a new type of bread. Voila! The French bread was born.

Lucky for you, National French Bread Day, held annually on March 21, is the perfect opportunity to indulge in this unique bread that is characteristically crunchy on the outside and delectably doughy on the inside.

• 300 BC – Ancient Egyptians begin utilizing yeast in bread, altering the typically flat bread — naan, pita, tortillas — and making them fluffier.
• 800 BC – The Mesopotamians create milling — a process we still use today to create flours — by stacking two flat circular stones on top of one another to grind the grain.
• 1917 – Otto Rohwedder, an itinerant jeweler, invents the first mechanized bread slicer.
• 1920 –  a labor law prevented bakers from starting their day before 4 a.m.
• 1928 – While first viewed with some hesitancy, Rohwedder’s bread slicer is incorporated into factories — revolutionizing the bread manufacturing industry forever.
• 1970 – There were 55,000 bakers; today this number has shrunk to 35,000, a drop of 36% in 50 years.
• 1993 – Only 4 ingredients are allowed in the making of traditional French bread: flour, salt, water, yeast or leaven. This is legally regulated by the decree n° 93-1074 of September 13, 1993.
• 2014 –  Paris lawmakers prohibited certain community bakeries from closing for summer holidays at the same time, lest the entire neighborhood be tragically without bread!
• 2022 – UNESCO added the “artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread” to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
• French bread, also known as a baguette, is a long thin loaf made from basic lean dough.
• French Dip – The French love dipping French bread into hot coffee or tea.
• Food off a plate and on a table is usually a no-no, but with French bread, etiquette calls for it to be placed straight on the table.
• Because of its unique shape, French bread is typically carried under the arm — which is why it’s normal to own a baguette bag in France.
• The French love their desserts, and they’ve found that French bread makes the perfect vessel for chocolate chips.
• Because they must be eaten fresh, French people typically purchase their baguettes twice a day: one in the morning on their way to work, and one in the evening on the way home.
•  it is estimated by the Observatoire du Pain (The French Bread Observatory) that French people consume 320 baguettes every second of each day.
• Legend suggests Napoleon Bonaparte ordered bread in long, thin shapes to fit into soldiers’ uniform pockets. This design made it easier for troops to carry rations without additional containers or backpacks.
• An enduring legend claims baguettes were designed to avoid workers carrying knives while building the Paris Métro in the late 1800s.
• The Fête du Pain, or Festival of Bread, is an annual celebration held across France, with a major event in Paris.
• Many French people avoid placing baguettes upside down on tables, believing it brings bad luck. This superstition dates back to medieval times when bakers reserved upside-down loaves for executioners.
• Around 12 million people visit a bakery every day, and six billion baguettes are produced each year in France.

Sources:

National Today

Days of the Year

National Day Calendar

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